Tackling online inequality: Making digital platforms work for inclusive development
As they become an essential part of the digital experience, online platforms such as Facebook, Amazon, Uber, AirBnB, and Twitter are having a direct bearing on social inclusion and opportunity in many spheres of life for people around the world.
At their best, platforms can encourage information sharing, trading, and innovation. But they can also reinforce racial and gender biases and deepen social cleavages. For instance, a Harvard study of the North American context demonstrated that users of AirBnB in five U.S. cities with “distinctively African-American names” are about 16% less likely to be accepted by hosts than users with “white-sounding” names. In another study of online-contracting platforms in Latin America, it was found that globally, women are underrepresented two to one on the platform, and overall tend to bid lower than men.
There is a need to understand how platforms are shaping (and disrupting) work, learning, communication, and engagement, as well as their parallel impact on inclusion, equity, and power in the global South. However, regulatory regimes in developing countries are barely prepared to address the complexities of platform governance.
This project will study platforms in ten local and/or national contexts in the global South. The research will unpack how platforms affect economic and political inclusion and exclusion, knowledge generation, and gender relations. The project will develop ten use-cases of web- and mobile-based platforms and examine the policy implications for governance, freedom of expression, access to data and content, competition, economic opportunity, social progress, and innovation. The research methodology will combine stateofplay mapping of complex domains, systematic evidence from case studies and policy dialogues, and will contribute to shaping policies governing online platforms. Building a network of thought leaders who can strategically influence emerging policy areas in developing countries, the research will outline principles for more equitable and inclusive governance of online platforms in different contexts in the global South.
IT for Change in Bangalore, leveraging its strong presence in global technology and development policy debates, will oversee the research.
Project ID
108339
Project Status
Completed
End Date
Duration
24 months
IDRC Officer
Phet Sayo
Total Funding
CA$ 433,400.00
Location
Argentina
Brazil
China
Philippines
Programs
Networked Economies
Networked Economies
Institution Country
Belgium
Project Leader
Alain Strowel
Institution
Université Catholique de Louvain
Institution Website
Institution Country
Argentina
Project Leader
Alejandro Artopoulos
Institution
Fundación Universidad de San Andrés
Institution Website
Institution Country
India
Project Leader
Anita Gurumurthy
Institution
(name of President/Secretary) on behalf of IT for Change
Institution Website
Institution Country
United Kingdom
Project Leader
Arne Hintz
Institution
Cardiff University
Institution Website
Institution Country
Brazil
Project Leader
Francisco Carvalho de Brito Cruz
Institution
Associação INTERNETLAB de Pesquisa em Direito e Tecnologia
Institution Website
Institution Country
United Kingdom
Project Leader
Julie Chen
Institution
University of Leicester
Institution Website
Institution Country
Canada
Project Leader
Katherine reilly
Institution
Simon Fraser University
Institution Website
Institution Country
Philippines
Project Leader
Liza S. Garcia
Institution
Foundation for Media Alternatives, Inc.
Institution Website
Institution
Foundation for Media Alternatives
Institution Website
Outputs
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Data policies : regulatory approaches for data-driven platforms in the UK and EU Report
The study analyzed trends and implications of current policy reform for data collection, analysis and sharing via web-based platforms. In particular, it interrogated emerging regulatory frameworks that shape, constrain or advance citizens’ control over data that concerns them and that affects their lives. It focused on policy change in the UK and EU, particularly the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK Investigatory Powers (IP) Act and Digital Economy (DE) Act, as a political and economic environment where rapid change in both platform and data policies is emerging. Author(s): Hintz, Arne Language: English |
Policy framework for digital platforms : moving from openness to inclusion : protection of users in the platform economy : a European perspective Report
The research report offers a comparative analysis of problems suffered by digital platform users in their daily-life transactions, namely practices and threats that are exclusionary or unfair under legal frameworks, as well as underlying gaps in protection, and practicable solutions. It focuses on the inequalities (understood as information asymmetries affecting the weak party), and unfair practices experienced by end-users and suppliers of online platforms. Author(s): Delronge, Cynthia, Ducato, Rossana, Kleczewski, Anne-Grace, Marique, Enguerrand, Strowel, Alain, Wattecamps, Celine Language: English |
Tackling online inequality : making digital platforms work for inclusive development - final technical report Report
Research included case studies of different economic sectors and legal reviews in the domains of e-commerce, agriculture, video-on-demand, food delivery, fintech, ride hailing and travel undertaken in various sites in the global north and south. Recommendations include overhauling the traditional legal approaches to managing the rights, relations and conduct of persons and businesses engaged in commerce in the digital context. The platform mode of economic organization urgently needs to be reoriented towards a more equitable distribution, as if the last woman mattered. Author(s): Gurumurthy, Anita, Chami, Nandini, Bharthur, Deepti, Singh, Paraminder Jeet Language: English |
Policy frameworks for digital platforms : moving from openness to inclusion : mapping Rioplatense platform economy : the case of mercado libre in Uruguay and Argentina final technical report Report
The study assesses the online commerce (e-commerce) economy in Argentina and Uruguay: do online platforms really open new opportunities for producers and customers? How inclusive are e-commerce services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs)? In this case study of MercadoLibre, findings show that the platform addresses financial and logistical problems but does not deal, or cannot deal, with skills, capabilities and country connectivity improvements. Basic digital skills, information and communication techniques, and media literacy are needed in order to engage with the platform as a small or medium enterprise. Author(s): Artopoulos, Alejandro, Huarte, Jimena, Rivoir, Ana Laura, Cancela, Victoria Language: English |